Are you a veteran, on active duty or a reserve?

The Culture

Military life is not normal

Military culture is quite different from what most civilians experience. Here are a few of the dynamics our military personnel encounter, and how our church can minister to them.

Military life has its own culture, rank structure and language. Our local churches need to be well-informed and trained to earn the trust of their service members.

Divorce, relationship problems, pornography, and alcohol consumption are a cultural norm. Our local churches are where these service men/women will get the biblical teaching that will help them get past these mindsets.

Military personnel and veterans do not want to be transparent. Life Bible Studies and small groups will be a great place where military men/women can go to face their problems and sin in a loving environment.

Most military men/women are trained to kill by repetition, not by thought (pop up targets, training, rehearsals). Local church involvement will help ground these men and women in Jesus where they will begin to understand what it looks like to serve Christ while serving their country and to be effective at both.

Communities are formed by rank and the type of job. Life Bible Studies and small groups will allow the service man/woman to be in community with fellow Christians and understand their identity in Christ is more important than their identity in who they are associated with.

They understand faith more from mentors and individuals. The local church will be a place where military men/women will be able to see faith put into action by their pastors, ministers, Life Bible Study leaders and other leaders and teachers in the church.

Aggressiveness, pride and ego are standards in the military community, not negative traits. Local church involvement will be the place to harness those traits and redirect them to live on mission as a disciple of Christ. As a result they will be aggressive to share the Gospel, proud to be a child of God, and confident in their walk with God around those who don’t share the same confidence.